It was pointed out to us that our JALT Announcements Newsletter didn't actually have a name. Rather, "JALT Announcements Newsletter" was simply an unimaginative description of its contents. So, we're launching a new name today: "JALT Talk". Long-term JALT members may recognise that as the name given to a JALT email discussion group in an earlier era, and we acknowledge the historical connection. We also acknowledge that an announcement of a name change on April Fool's Day is bound to be met with a degree of skepticism, whereas we want to see this day of "new starts" as a day of optimism; we wish all of our teachers and school administrators good luck on this first day of the new school year.
In this issue:
1. JALT2021 News
2. JALT Website Update (Reset your passwords, please)
3. The next Multilingual Cafe is scheduled for April 28, 2021
4. PanSIG Announces Plenary Speaker
5. About JALT ZPD (Zoom for Professional Development)
6. Reminder: Call for presenters for Buzz Green Day
7. JALT Publications
8. JALT Upcoming Events
1. JALT2021 News:
Great response for conference proposals. Over 600 proposals with more than half indicating desire to have a face to face presentation. The Conference Planning Committee will be discussing moving forward on the conference format, April 3rd from 10:00 to 12:00. Interested persons are invited; send a message to program@jalt.org.
JALT2021 will be our 47th Annual International Conference on Language Teaching and Learning & Educational Materials Exhibition.
Where: Granship Shizuoka / Online
When: November 12 – November 15, 2021
Theme: Reflections and New Perspectives
2. JALT Website Update
We have rebuilt our website from the ground up, and launched the new site in March. Please note that we are still in the process of getting our new website running smoothly, and some functionality may be unavailable for a short while. We apologise for the inconvenience.
Reset your password:
If you are a returning JALT Member and logging in to the new website for the first time, please reset your password. If you are a new JALT member, please create a new account. If you'd like a video overview of resetting your password, we made one for you: https://youtu.be/Ymu6OrwIFrM
3. The next Multilingual Cafe is scheduled for April 28, 2021
JALT OLE SIG (https://sites.google.com/view/jalt-olesig/) wants to provide a space to meet and share using languages other than English, creating a community of practice. This is the Multilingual Café: meet and chat in your favorite language. The languages available depend on those attending on the day (for example French, German, Spanish, Thai, Hungarian, Chinese, Tagalog and many more). This event will be held regularly, sometimes focusing on one language sometimes with various languages. - In the January 2021 meeting the theme will be Plurilingual Education and we will arrange breakout rooms for various languages. We could confirm already French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Tagalog and Persian, there might be others as well. Interested? You are welcome to join! Lingua Franca are English and Japanese. Please use the signup form to receive the Online Meeting Link. You will get the link the day before the meeting.
4. PanSIG Announces Plenary Speaker
The Plenary Speaker of PanSIG 2021 will be Jane Willis. Her session title is "Task-based teaching -- but what about the grammar?"
Writer of several prize-winning books, Jane Willis worked extensively overseas as an English teacher and trainer before moving to Aston University’s Masters in TESOL programs. Now retired, she lives in the English Lake District and enjoys fell walking. She also teaches tai chi and is still quite active on the TBLT scene.
PanSIG will be held online May 14-16, 2021. Please see https://pansig.org for details.
5: About JALT Zoom for Professional Development
The JALT ZPD sessions is an innovation of JALT President Dawn Lucovich. For one hour on the final Sunday of the month, everyone is welcome to attend this networking event. We had close to 80 attendees in the most recent session. The event starts with short icebreakers in breakout rooms, with participants randomly selected. This is followed by themed breakout rooms, which participants can choose. The rooms include an introduction to JALT for new members, and topics such as getting published, retirement issues, online teaching, research planning, and much more. To sign up for the next ZPD on April 25 (8 PM - 9 PM), please register here: http://bit.ly/ZPDRSVP
6: Reminder: Call for presenters for Buzz Green Day (Gifu JALT, April 24th, 2-7 pm online)
In memory of the beloved JALT member and friend, Buzz Green, Gifu JALT is hosting a half-day event in April, and they are putting out a call for presenters. The event will host an array of presentations with an emphasis on young learners and ALT-related topics, two areas of teaching dear to Buzz's heart. Presentations will be 30 mins long. Potential participants could either send Gifu JALT your title and/or abstract, or get in touch first to discuss their ideas. First-time presenters are very welcome. MyShare and poster sessions are encouraged and possible as well, based on the responses to the call. Gifu JALT is also looking for volunteers who can help us host rooms. Anyone interested in presenting or volunteering can contact our Programming Chair Brent Simmonds at brentoldchap@hotmail.com.
About Buzz Green: https://jalt.org/main/news/rest-peace-buzz-green
7: New JALT Publications
The Teacher Education and Development SIG has released Explorations in Teacher Development: Vol. 27, (1). Explorations in Teacher Development is a journal for teachers, by teachers, where we encourage people to share their professional experiences and reflections. https://td.jalt.org/index.php/etdjournal/
8. Upcoming Events in JALT
For full details, please see https://jalt.org/futureevents
02 Apr 2021
L2 Learning Motivations and Achievement Goals
Nagano Chapter
03 Apr 2021
Annual LLL Mini Conference 2021
Lifelong Language Learning SIG
03 Apr 2021
The Impact of Assistant Language Teachers on English Education in Shizuoka Prefecture
Shizuoka Chapter
10 Apr 2021
Tips for Teaching Presentation Skills
Kitakyushu Chapter
17 Apr 2021
2:00 pm to 4:45 pm
7th Annual JALT Oita Pechakucha Event
Oita Chapter
17 Apr 2021
My Share: Back to School Tips
Kobe Chapter
17 Apr 2021
Teaching EFL Students Essay Writing Remotely with EssayJack
Fukuoka Chapter
18 Apr 2021
Nara JALT April MyShare Event
Nara Chapter
24 Apr 2021
Introverts in the Classroom: A how-to guide to inclusiveness
Hiroshima Chapter
25 Apr 2021
Scott Thornbury: Just for Fun
Sendai Chapter
Attendance is limited to 100 people.
25 Apr 2021
JALT Zoom for Professional Development
JALT BoD
28 Apr 2021
Multilingual Café (OLE-SIG)
Other Language Educators SIG
Best regards,
Bill Pellowe
JALT Director of Public Relations
pr@jalt.org
If you wish to unsubscribe from JALT Talk: JALT Announcements Newsletter, please unsubscribe here: https://hosted.jalt.org/membermail/unsubscribe-success.php?c=60
https://hosted.jalt.org/membermail/w/YOVDszONIkTx0eJK9xfuAg